What your VO2 max is
VO2 max estimated by the Cooper test comes from the distance covered in 12 minutes: VO2 max = (metres − 504.9) ÷ 44.73. Covering 2,400 metres gives 42.4 ml/kg/min, which equals 12.1 METs and a sustained pace of 12 km/h. It is an estimate from a regression fitted on runners, not a laboratory measurement with a gas analyser, and it depends on the test actually being run at maximum effort.
The formula
VO2 max (ml/kg/min) = (Metres in 12 minutes − 504.9) ÷ 44.73 · Absolute VO2 (l/min) = VO2 max × Weight ÷ 1,000 · METs = VO2 max ÷ 3.5 · Speed (km/h) = Metres × 0.005, because 12 minutes is a fifth of an hour.
What each variable means
- Distance in 12 minutes
- Metres covered running as fast as possible for exactly 12 minutes, ideally on a track. On a treadmill the number reads higher: no air resistance and no changes of direction.
- Body weight
- Used only for the absolute VO2. The relative figure, which is the headline result, is already divided per kilo and therefore penalises heavier athletes even when their engine is bigger.
Precomputed values
| Metres | VO2 max | METs | Speed | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,600 | 24,5 | 7,0 | 8,0 km/h | 7:30 /km |
| 2,000 | 33,4 | 9,5 | 10,0 km/h | 6:00 /km |
| 2,200 | 37,9 | 10,8 | 11,0 km/h | 5:27 /km |
| 2,400 | 42,4 | 12,1 | 12,0 km/h | 5:00 /km |
| 2,800 | 51,3 | 14,7 | 14,0 km/h | 4:17 /km |
| 3,200 | 60,3 | 17,2 | 16,0 km/h | 3:45 /km |
The relationship is linear: every extra 100 metres in the test adds 2.24 ml/kg/min. Which also means a 50-metre measurement error — the difference between cutting the bend and not cutting it — moves the result by more than a point, so it is worth measuring the loop once and never changing it.
Run it on your numbers
How to read the result
The number works as a baseline to compare against yourself three months from now, not against another person. Repeat the test on the same track, at the same time of day and with the same preparation; if any of those three change, the difference between measurements stops meaning training.
Assumptions and limits
- The test was run at maximum effort with an even pace. Going out fast and walking the last three minutes underestimates the result.
- Cooper's regression was fitted on young, trained military personnel. Outside that profile the error grows.
- It is an indirect estimate: measuring VO2 max properly needs a laboratory gas analyser.
- Heat, altitude and wind cut the distance covered without fitness having changed.
